if the latter ever recovered his reason, how much and how fervently he had prayed for his happiness during his last illness. When Admiral Priestman called, he gave him the letter, saying, "Is not this comfort for a dying father?" In a heavenly frame of mind, full of hope and confidence in the Redeemer, Howard breathed his last on the morning of the 20th of January, 1790.

His funeral was not suffered to be so private as he in his humility had wished. He was buried in the spot he had indicated, near the village of Dauphigny, in the grounds of a French gentleman who had shown him much. kindness. A small brick pyramid is erected over the grave, and is still pointed out to travellers as a memorial, of which even the rude inhabitants of Tartary are proud.

The news of the philanthropist's death was received in England as a national calamity; and in the pulpit and the senate his name was mentioned with admiring reverence; while the pen of the poet, and the eulogy of the orator, concurred to praise him as one who, by his life, had conferred honour on human nature.

Perhaps the most admirable sentiments delivered on the character of Howard were

those of the celebrated orator and statesman, Edmund Burke, who said:

"His labours and writings have done much to open the eyes and hearts of mankind. He has visited all Europe-not to survey the sumptuousness of palaces, or the stateliness of temples; not to make accurate measurement of the remains of ancient grandeur, nor to form a scale of the curiosities of ancient art; not to collect medals, nor to collate manuscripts; but to dive into the depths of dungeons, and to plunge into the infection of hospitals; to survey the mansions of sorrow and pain; to take the gauge and dimensions of misery, depression, and contempt; to remember the forgotten, to attend to the neglected, to visit the forsaken, and to compare the distresses of men in all countries. His plan is original, and it is as full of genius as it is of humanity. It was a voyage of discovery-a circumnavigation of charity. Already the benefit of his labours is felt, more or less, in every country."

The old plan of a monument was now revived, and a full-length statue was erected in St. Paul's Cathedral. But this is not his only monument. Every well-built and wisely regulated prison in Europe is a monument to

his humanity, and every active and merciful prison-visiting committee a memorial of his virtues.

There are a few points of view in which, before concluding this narrative, I should like you to consider the character of Howard.

1. His Activity.-He had feeble health during his whole life, and he was in affluent circumstances, and of a quiet, contemplative character; causes that might reasonably have induced him to pass his days in leisure, without feeling self-condemned if he had done so but he had not so learned the duty of a Christian, and his life was a practical exemplification of the Scriptural command"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might." He lost no time, he neglected no opportunity, he never flagged or grew weary; zealous at last as at first-he died at his work.

2. His Bravery.-Talk not of generals leading their troops to battle as an evidence of bravery; what was this to the calm, collected determination that led Howard to explore the noisome dungeon, to visit the crowded hospital, to be immured in the loathsome lazaretto, and to dwell in the habita

tions of pestilence! In other ways his bravery was shown. When a mutiny prevailed at the Savoy," the prisoners had killed two of their keepers, and no one dared approach them, until the intrepid Howard insisted on entering their prison. In vain his friends, in vain the jailors, tried to dissuade him; in he went, among two hundred ruffians, where such was the effect of his mild and benign manner, that they soon listened to his remonstrances, represented their grievances, and at last allowed themselves to be reconducted to their cells."

3. His Resignation.-Howard had many sorrows: his dearest and nearest friends were taken from him by death; his house was made desolate; and, after all his cares, his only earthly hope, the son of his muchlamented wife, was a source of keen disappointment and sorrow. Yet he bore all without a murmur, bowing to the will of Him who doeth all things well; and his domestic sorrows, instead of making him melancholy and peevish, as lesser troubles often have made people, caused him to be more tender in his sympathies towards others, and more determined to alleviate human wretchedness.

4. His Attention to Home Duties.-Many

great men, when engaged in public duties, have but little consideration for private matters. In the midst of Howard's great schemes for the general improvement of prisons, his servants, dependents, and poor neighbours, were never forgotten. Clean, airy, well-built cottages for the poor, and schools for the instruction of their children, showed that he had their interest at heart in the midst of all his varied labours.

Indeed, whether I think of his generosity or his prudence, his mercy or his activity, his bravery or his benevolence, I feel fully convinced that no mere mortal ever displayed a greater amount of excellence. This is the man that youth should regard, as showing all the noble characteristics of a Christian hero.

CHAPTER III.

MORAL HEROISM IN REMOVING IGNORANCE AND POVERTY.OBERLIN.-ROBERT WALKER.

IN the north-east district of France, between Alsace and Lorraine, there is a wild mountainous district called the BAN DE LA ROCHE by the French, and STEINTHAL, or the Valley of Stone, by the Germans. It derives